Date: Fri 21-Mar-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: CAROLK

Illustration: C

Location: A14

Quick Words:

Shakespeare-Canova-theatre

Full Text:

(rev "Twelfth Night" @Joel Barlow, 3/21/97)

A Visual Treat, Bard Also Had Impact

By June S. April

REDDING - Luscious costumes and sets, and well-played (and sung) period music

created a wonderful tone, visual and auditory, to Barlow's Class of 1997

presentation, Twelfth Night.

What was even more impressive than the play was the impact it had on all those

involved. For directors Diana Canova and Margaret Dunham, it was the

fulfillment of seeing students "transformed and empowered" by relating to

Shakespeare's characters and bringing them to life.

For class advisors (and thereby senior play producers), Warren DeFrank and

Janice Garvey, it meant lots of support and nitty-gritty work and watching

their "charges" pull together and blossom.

To student producer Myra Partridge Twelfth Night was the challenge her class

used to prove they were not "slackers." Theatre brought this senior class

together. These high school students learned about themselves, and what they

could accomplish. They also realized what networking and cooperation, parental

and community support can mean.

Many years ago, actress Ethel Merman lustily sang an all-too-long song called

"There's No Business Like Show Business." Both Diana Canova and Margaret

Dunham are professional theatre people (cinema and television as well for Ms

Canova). They explained that most great actors prefer the stage to the silver

screen because of the "immediacy" and excitement of the audience-performer

interaction, along with the pleasure of being in the limelight.

Ms Dunham, who has worked with the legendary Joe Papp in New York City, said

she found doing Shakespeare gives actors a feeling of empowerment, of being

"larger-than-life."

"I also think," she added, "That these are some of the most beautiful words

ever written."

The women agreed that theatre is truly an ensemble art, and transformation is

a visible process. "You watch life being breathed into archaic words, and

there's a thrill to see actors internalize the characters and the words; the

actors move from a sense of the ordinary, to the extraordinary," they said.

Fortunately, for them, all freshman and sophomores at Joel Barlow High School

are exposed to Shakespeare. "There's a certain predisposition for it," pointed

out English teacher Mary Luongo. "It's not a foreign language, and when read,

it does fall `trippingly off the tongue." So it was not entirely surprising

the senior class elected to do one of the Bard's plays rather than a

contemporary play.

It's not only that "the play's the thing," but what this production has meant

to so many. Ms Canova pointed out that there were people involved who had no

children in the high school, such as the costume designers, Laura Pare and

Kathleen Lopes, or set designer Kathy Anderson.

"They got involved because they wanted to support having Shakespeare in the

school," she said.

Kathleen Slanski, the production supervisor (and head of audio-visual at the

school), gave hours of her personal time to make the production come together.

"Theatre at Barlow has grown, and that growth has drawn incredible people to

become involved and volunteer."